As a nation state, Italy has emerged only in 1871. Until then the country was politically divided into a large number of independant cities, provinces and islands. The currently available evidences point out to a dominant Etruscan, Greek and Roman cultural influence on today's Italians.

I was looking through records (from the 1830s) of Rapone, a small town in Potenza, Basilicata and I noticed the profession of Fuochista on a couple of occasions. Now, I have checked and I think it means 'fireman', and I am just wondering if these small towns would have had firemen (as we know them today) - it just seems strange. The majority of people were farmers, while in town there were barbers, shoemakers, tailors, bakers, midwives, carpenters, innkeepers etc So, Fuochista - a fireman, or maybe someone who supplied wood for fires??

The direct occupation in english would be "stoker" or somoone who tends to and stokes a fire. Since it is in an agericulutral area the thought comes to mind that it may relate to someone who stokes a fire in the making of charcoal, bricks, tiles etc etc. =Peter=

An Italian novel for kids called "La Freccia Azzurra" (The Blue Arrow) says that all the children in the world wait for Christmas Eve to get presents from Santa Clause, but Italian kids are the luckiest in the world because they get presents again on the 6th of January by the Befana.Who is the Befan...

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